First look inside new racino complex

Today we offer you a first glimpse inside the new racetrack and casino planned for the town.

As revealed in yesterday’s Evening Post, planning bosses at Reading Borough Council gave the new racetrack, casino and speedway stadium the thumbs up on Monday night.

The ‘racino’, which is to be built in South Reading on land alongside Island Road, will be the first of its kind in the UK and will include the racetrack, casino and a new speedway stadium as well as car parking and kennels.

The approval was subject to a legal agreement that racino bosses provide shuttle buses to and from the track to West, East and Central Reading.

The buses will have to run for a minimum of a year, have their service reviewed quarterly and will be free.

They will run from 7pm to 7am so customers and staff can get home.

Whitley ward councillor and vice chairman of the planning committee Jim Hanley said at the meeting: “The arguments in support of the racino are strong enough to persuade me.”

Committee member Councillor Tony Page said: “It’s a good application which offers improvements to Reading and it is long overdue.

“There is undoubtedly a demand for it.”

But Graham Murdoch from Grosvenor Casino said there was no need for an out-of-town racino.

Grosvenor operates a casino in Duke Street and also has an unused licence for another casino in the town.

Mr Murdoch said: “You can take a child to speedway but you can’t take them to a casino. This is just an attempt to put a casino outside the town centre where it’s not needed.”

But Cllr Page said he took “a very dim view” of a firm with a casino licence attempting to thwart the progress of another casino.

He added: “What you are saying is you have a licence but do not intend to use it, but you are preventing someone else from using it.”

The casino will be open from 2pm to 4am.

Gaming International’s chief executive Clarke Osborne said work would begin later this summer and it is hoped the speedway track will be completed by summer 2008.